Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena
by Writerof2011
Summary: This is my opinion on what will happen in The Mark of Athena, the third book in the Heroes of Olympus series. I'll try to keep righting because I have a strong opinon on where the book is going. :
1. Chapter 1

Jason

I

**Jason pictured the meetings between the camps going a little better.** His own thoughts were getting the better of him and he was sure they would come out today. Whatever loose ends needed to be tied up, they were being tied today. He'd been at Camp Half-Blood for more than half a year and he was anxious to return to his home. So many memories had come back to him that it was a little overwhelming and made him restless to get back home. Secondly, he had been practically dating Piper at this point while many memories of Reyna came back to him : late nights planning War Games, dealing with camp problems, and most clearly, fighting side-by-side and back-to-back in the war. Sure he'd had good times with Piper, she'd saved him from killing his best friend, she'd led me out of the Underworld, and she would've given her dad up to save him. Things like that – life – were non-repayable. Jason had hardly saved Piper besides from falling over the Grand Canyon. Anyway, Piper was easily jealous and Jason was scared of what might happen if Reyna was to run straight into his arms. Jason shivered. The idea was so repulsive, not because he didn't like her, in fact, he too would've liked to hug her, but because Piper's reaction could set off something unwanted. But everybody was on the main deck getting lectured again about precautions.

Jason, Piper, Leo, Grover, and Annabeth stood on a deck positioned as a stage or platform above the main deck.

Jason was speaking, "Where you go when we get there is up to whatever Reyna decides. Now remember, there are-"

"- five cohorts, four barracks in each, and ten soldiers in each barrack." The camp replied in union. They'd been teaching Camp Half-Blood all about Camp Jupiter's system and how they work. Everything needed to be perfect. Even Conner and Travis Stoll had learned to quit joking and stealing for at least ten minutes.

"What about the she-wolf?" Clarisse asked.

"Lupa only sets us on our path to the camp. She test us, sharpens our senses, then we never see her again. She is our mother in many ways. She raised me in the wolf house until I was old enough to join the legion. I've never even seen her in the camp. I don't even think she came during the battle yesterday." Jason explained.

"Then why is she considered so important?" Clarisse asked.

"Because, the only time I've ever known her to enter camp was whenever Greeks and Romans fought. She might even make an appearance today."

Annabeth stood from her chair, "Campers, we're ready. Everyone is in the Forum waiting." Her voice was a little rocky and she was sweating a lot. Jason knew she had butterflies about seeing Percy again. Jason gave her a look of reassurance and she nodded to show she was okay.

Leo and Piper were at his side as they landed.

"I told Nyssa to steer away from the Forum so we don't cross the Pomerian Line." Leo said.

"Jason, are you ready? Everything will be okay," Piper said.

"Promise?" Jason asked.

"Yeah these people are your family. They'll accept you." Leo said.

The ship dropped lower and as they got closer Jason's heart was a rollercoaster of ups, downs, flutters, and 360s. First he saw the Terminus and he laughed a lot inside, then he saw Gwen, not in armor, but holding a Chemistry book, which Jason thought was weird. Next he saw Dakota and remembered questing multiple times with him and putting up with his kool-aid addiction. One by one faces and things rang many bells in his head: Bobby, Vitellius, the Senate House, the camp and more. Finally Jason saw the five people that gave him goose-bumps: Octavian, his camp enemy that was determined to take his spot as praetor, Hazel, who he had comforted in her early days of the legion now standing proud and strong with a way more powerful aura, some guy Jason didn't know with a big body and an un-matching baby face wearing the Centurion Badge and Mural Crown, Reyna in her purple toga with Aurum and Argentum at her side, and last but not least, Percy Jackson, arm around Hazel and the other big guy, wearing a praetor toga and a nervous smile.

The last thing on Jason's 'Why I'm nervous to go back to Camp' List was Percy Jackson. He had worked out that he and Percy were the ones to lead the Prophecy of Seven. The Son of Poseidon and the Son of Jupiter. That's what it all came down to. If Percy and Jason didn't get along then nothing would. At this time ship had landed and Jason, Piper, Leo, and everyone else went down into the lower level—which was so big it could hold both campers and soldiers—out the doors, and down the ramp.

On the way down the ramp, Piper gripped Jason's hand, which made Jason worry even more.

Get a grip, Jason told himself, they'll listen to you.

Before Jason knew it, Annabeth shot past him, while Percy picked up speed towards her, both of their faces overwhelmed with relief, anxiousness, and more. Annabeth couldn't help but let a few tears come from her eyes. They locked in embrace while Jason, Piper, Leo, and the rest of the camp unloaded from the ship. Hazel looked like she might drop and she kept staring at Leo, but she was holding the big baby faced guy's hand. Reyna, Jason knew, was trying to keep it together when until she got alone. It was clear that they would have a private reunion, especially not in front of Piper. Octavian on the other hand was as red as a checker piece, holding, or strangling, a stuffed monkey. That made Jason smile, but it also made him drown inside because Octavian had a way with words almost similar to Piper.

Nobody interrupted Percy and Annabeth. Reyna didn't stop to acknowledge them as she addressed the campers of Camp Half-Blood, "Demigods of Greece," Her voice echoed over the entire grounds, "For days now we have been home to your hero and in little time he has become ours as well. We trust him completely, therefore we trust you. But don't be too easy here. Anything bad could start an open war between the two of us. Also, Jason Grace, hero of Rome, child of Jupiter, and former praetor, welcome home." When she was done, she beckoned for Jason to come over.

Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy, Grover, and the baby face all met in the center of the forum, while everyone else stood waiting for orders.

"Hello, Jason," Reyna said, "So glad you're back! I've missed you. Making decisions alone around here has been hard. So what's going on?"

"Well to get you acquainted with strangers, this is Piper, Grover, Leo, and-" Jason started.

"Annabeth," Percy finished, "She's my girlfriend."

"Yes I remember her, nice to meet you all." Reyna said, "So we'll call a Senate Meeting, I'll gather the senators and you can gather your… uh…. What do you call it?"

"Counselors," Annabeth said.

Reyna looked like she might laugh at the idea. Camp Jupiter was a military camp with senators and soldiers while the people they were to cooperate with were more of a summer camp with counselors and campers. Nevertheless, Reyna kept a straight face.

"Now, you," Reyna pointed at Grover, "Get away."

"No Reyna, this is Grover. He's with us. Grover is the successor of Pan." Jason explained.

"And my best friend," Percy and Grover quickly exchanged a brotherly hug.

"Good to have you back, Percy," Grover said.

"Okay then," Reyna said, looking stunned, "So back to the Senate meeting. We'll meet there in thirty minutes."

"Okay, I'm guessing by 'there' you mean the nice big white domed building," Leo said.

"Yes," Jason said.

"That's the Senate House." Piper exclaimed.

"Right again."

"So where can our campers go? I don't want any interaction with the two camps until we give them the word that everything is cool," Annabeth said.

"Have them reload onto the ship," Reyna suggested, "I see no other place."

"Alright," Leo said, "Let's go start this Senate Meeting!"

Reyna, Percy, Jason, Octavian, and Annabeth stood on the stage. The crowd was a mixture of orange and purple. The front row had Leo, Piper, Hazel, and the big guy Jason learned to be Frank. And many of the senators and counselors grumbled by sitting next to each other.

"Leaders," Reyna said, "settle down. Well there's no reason for formalities, we first have to get to know each other and get rules spread on the table. You have fifteen counselors and we have ten senators, so if voting ever occurs five people may not participate from your camp, okay?"

"Agreed," Annabeth said, "Counselors of Hypnos, Nike, Hebe, Tyche, and Hecate will not vote in any voting terms. Is that clear?"

Five people that were half to the back sighed, "Yes."

"I will call the names of each senator and you will do the same with your counselors, okay?" Reyna asked Annabeth.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered.

"When we call your name, you will stand and introduce yourself. Senators will say their cohort and godly parent, counselors will say their…uh-"

"Cabins and godly parent, but this only goes if you're allowed to vote," Annabeth said.

While Reyna and Annabeth worked together to address each camp and all, Jason could tell there was definitely tension between them. Both of them always lead with such confidence and only sharing it with someone they were close to. This was a hard task for them.

"Larry Lemings," Reyna called.

Larry stood, his red hair shifted as he spoke, "Centurion of the first Cohort, son of Mercury,"

"Hank Steal," Reyna called.

Hank stood, "Centurion of the Third Legion, son of Minerva,"

After all the senators were called Annabeth stepped up to call the counselors.

"Miranda Gardiner,"

"Counselor of cabin four, daughter of Demeter,"

"Clarisse La Rue,"

"Counselor of Cabin five, daughter of Ares,"

"Will Solace,"

"Counselor of cabin seven, son of Apollo."

"Leo Valdez,"

"Counselor of cabin nine, son of Hephaestus."

"Piper McLean,"

"Counselor of Cabin ten, daughter of Aphrodite."

"Conner Stoll,"

"Counselor of Cabin eleven, son of Hermes."

"Pollux,"

"Counselor of cabin twelve, son of Dionysus."

"Butch,"

"Counselor of cabin fourteen, son of Iris."

"Ashley Clear,"

"Counselor of cabin sixteen, daughter of Nemesis."

"Good," Reyna said, "Now to introduce the ones on the stage. I am Reyna, praetor to the twelfth legion."

"I am Annabeth Chase, head counselor of cabin six and daughter of Athena," Annabeth said.

"I am Octavian, augur here at Camp Jupiter. I am a descendant of Apollo. And may I just say, don't get too comfortable," Octavian said.

"And everyone here knows Jason Grace and Percy Jackson," Reyna said, "Before we settle on anything to do, we must know one another's stories."

Jason explained everything, yet again, from the time he woke on the bus, to now. Hearing what Percy had done for Jason's home was like a stab to the ribcage. He couldn't thank Percy more. The whole time he had doubted that the Romans would accept him and take him in, he'd actually had the blessing of a goddess, won the War games, and saved the camp all in four days. Sure, he'd had help and sure, Jason did things for Camp Half-Blood too. But they weren't in any real danger.

"So I think its okay to say that the Prophecy of Seven is among us. We've already determined three of the heroes of the prophecy; whole will it be from your camp?" Reyna asked.

"Leo Valdez and Piper McLean, along with me. We have a hunch that Annabeth is one too, but Hera hasn't said or done anything to acknowledge her, so we're unsure," Jason explained.

"Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang will represent our camp, along with Percy. We know this for certain," Reyna said, "Will Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, and Piper McLean join us on the stage, please."

They followed instruction and they all stood side by side: Hazel, Frank, Leo, Piper, Jason, and Percy.

"The quest will take us to Rome and then to Greece," Reyna said.

"Rome?" Piper asked, "No offence, but who said anything about going to Rome?"

"When we rescued Thanatos yesterday, he said we needed to find the Doors of Death and start our quest in Rome, and then our quest will take us to Rome," Frank said.

Piper nodded.

"Wait!" Octavian said, "Don't go about discussing this until we get answers and gain your trust! We cannot trust you. All along, for years, I've known about you. No one believed me, but I knew. Senators, are we really going to open our home to opponents? They've admitted to having fought us before. Who's to say they won't do it again?"

"Octavian," Jason exclaimed, "I've lived with these people more than half a year and I know them. They are not deceiving you."

"Clearly they have deceived you, praetor," Octavian said.

"I am no longer praetor. That position is with Percy. You will respect him; if it weren't for him you'd be dead, crushed under the foot of Polybotes," Jason said.

Percy gave Jason a look of gratitude. This was what Jason had to do to get the camps to cooperate, plus Jason meant what he said.

"I for one trust the Greeks completely," Hazel said.

"Me too," Frank said.

"And I trust the Romans," Leo said, "I'm sure all counselors would agree, right?"

All the counselors in the room, even the ones that weren't voting spoke a blur of agreements.

"We Greeks have been preparing for months," Annabeth said, "We're dedicated to this quest."

"Well we Roman's only found out this morning. None of our soldiers know who you are. You'll have to forgive us if anyone has bad reactions," Reyna said.

"Why are you here in a warship, then?" Octavian asked.

"That's obvious enough, Octavian," Percy said, "Gaea is our enemy and the controller of land. If we're to travel to Rome and Greece, we can't travel on land. That's impossible. And to travel two camps, we'll need more than an airplane and I'm pretty sure the Mist won't stop the airport guards from knowing we have some type of weapons. We'll need our own transportation and that's the ship. It should be easy for me to control and navigate overseas."

"It also flies," Jason said, "Which will make it easy for me to navigate it in the sky."

"I'm not too good with air. Zeus and I don't particularly get along," Percy explained.

"Hera told us that it would take the seven demigods sailing to the ancient lands to get the gods to see and cooperate with demigods. If she's telling the truth and we sail to Europe, the gods will see and they shouldn't strike," Piper explained.

"If the goddess has said the seven demigods will sail to Rome and Greece, let them, and only them, sail. That answer is clear," Octavian said.

Piper looked offended. She knew just as well as Jason that Octavian was an obstacle, but if Jason knew anybody that could get Octavian to shut up, it's Piper.

"Hera also said that the gods also needed to see Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter coexisting. We'll tell you anything you need to know to get you to understand," Piper said.

"That sounds promising. I'll take you up on that, beauty. Who is your counselor for Pluto? I see none representing."

"Our counselor doesn't reside in Camp Half-Blood. There isn't anyone to represent anyway, it's just him. After the Big Three promised not to have children, there were no more children of Hades," Annabeth said.

"What promise do you mean?" Octavian asked.

"The three main gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are the most powerful and so were their children. After WWII they swore on the River Styx that they wouldn't have any more children because of how powerful they were," Annabeth explained, "The other reason was that there was a prophecy that said a child of the big three would make a decision that would decide the fate of Olympus when they reach the age sixteen. They didn't want power like that just lying around."

"We have a child of Poseidon in our midst. Are you saying he should be dead?" Octavian asked.

"Not at all," Annabeth said as if the idea repulsed her, "Percy was born against the promise, yes, but he was excused by Zeus himself after Percy saved Olympus."

"Yet, Percy just admitted that he and the sky god do not have good relations," Octavian said.

"Well it was the least Zeus could do after Percy saved him!" Piper said.

"Well, this counselor of Pluto, was he too excused by a god?" Octavian asked, "Or have you Greeks crossed the law of the gods there too?"

"Hades is the one that had him in the first place and frankly, I don't see how it matters. What does it have to do with our camps getting along?" Piper asked.

"Just a question. Unless you have something to hide, I see no reason why I shouldn't get an answer, especially after you promised full answers," Octavian said.

Piper took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. Fortunately Annabeth took it from there, "The counselor of Hades and his sister were born before WWII. Hades didn't want to be the blame for Olympus falling if one of his children were to be the one the Prophecy spoke about, so he hid them in a hotel that froze time. Three and a half years ago a fury in disguise took them out of the hotel. She was working on Hades orders. At this time Percy had been introduced to camp and had gone on two great quests. Hades saw Percy as a threat and realized he wanted his child to decide on the fate of Olympus, wanting to control his child's decision. Also, my best friend, Thalia was another child of the Big Three. She was a daughter of Zeus. She was also a great threat because she was the toughest and the oldest and a child of Zeus. The daughter of Hades died on a quest leaving just one child of Hades. At this point, there were three people that could be the child in the prophecy. Thalia went and joined the Hunters, a band of girls that follow the goddess Artemis that are immortal, so Thalia never aged up to sixteen leaving just the son of Hades and the son of Poseidon. IN the end it was Percy. That's how our counselor doesn't violate the promise."

"Are you telling me," Hazel said, "that my brother is your counselor?" Hazel looked like she might drop.

"Your brother?" Annabeth asked, "Nico de Angelo?"

"Yes!" Hazel said.

"The Ambassador of Pluto is Greek?" Reyna asked.

"The what?" Annabeth asked.

"The son of Pluto has been coming to our camp for almost two years now. We've never been sure what to do with him. He says he lives in the underworld so we called him the Ambassador of Pluto. He is the one that told us the Titans would fall if we defeated their fortress." Reyna said.

"Really he was just trying to get us to not run into each other. He's known from spending time with his father most likely. He may even know what the result of the Prophecy of Seven is; otherwise he wouldn't try keeping us separate. He was letting the prophecy come together by fate," Annabeth concluded.

"He's the one that brought Hazel to camp. He must've known that she was one of the seven," A senator in the second row said.

"Where is he, now?" Jason asked.

Hazel looked like she might cry. Percy spoke for her, "Nico has been kidnapped. Hazel thinks that her father wants us to find him when we get to Rome."

"Why Rome?" Leo asked.

"Because he went missing looking for the Doors of Death and like we said before, Thanatos said the Doors of Death were in Rome," Frank explained.

"People, when have we decided that we'll trust the Greeks?" Octavian asked.

"When everybody in the room started planning to actually win the war," Piper said.

"And why is it that you, Jason, and Leo fought the giant Enceladus?" Octavian asked Piper, "Wasn't it because you almost gave Jason and Leo to him as a peace offering to get your father back?"

"Yes," Piper said, "I almost did."

"And who's to say you wouldn't do it again on this quest?" Octavian asked.

"Because now I know for sure who I am, what I'm capable of, and what's at stake," Piper said with pure confidence. Nobody in the room seemed to be listening to Octavian anymore. Everyone was staring at Piper and the way she radiated beauty and formed her words. Jason knew she was charmspeaking without meaning to, "And if we don't cooperate then our world come to an end. The gods everything. Every one of us, the seven I mean, have been given dreams, messages, or actual communication with a god that let us know we were a part of the seven. Jason and Percy switched camps, Leo talked with his dad about it, I talked to my mom and my dad was kidnapped, and I'm sure Hazel and Frank have had certification too."

"Yea, Gaea sent me a vision yesterday and Frank talked to his dad about it," Hazel said.

"Who's to say my prophecies aren't certification?" Octavian said.

"I am," Annabeth said, "The prophecy clearly says half-bloods."

"If you're suggesting that you are the seventh member than I'll remind you that you haven't any certification either," Octavian said.

"The most powerful seven half-bloods are mentioned in the Prophecy," Percy said, "I know Annabeth and I say she's pretty powerful."

"What makes you say that?" Octavian asked, "Anyone can have battle strategy. Just look at Frank. His father is Mars and he has every bit of battle strategy than any daughter of Minerva. Not to mention his unique ability."

"What unique ability?" Jason asked.

"I can sort of um… shape shift into any type of creature. An eagle, a bear, and an elephant," Frank explained.

"From my understanding, everyone that's a part of the seven have a special ability. I can fly and control electricity which no other demigod can do, Percy can control water and breathe underwater which no other demigod can do, Piper can charmspeak, Frank can shape shift, Leo is fire resistant, and Hazel is…"

"The most powerful female warrior," Frank said.

"And how do you come to that conclusion?" Reyna asked.

"Her horse. Her horse came from the Amazons. Your sister said that only the most powerful female warrior can even go near that thing," Frank explained.

"Then that settles it. Whoever has special abilities and has been certified in some type of way is the one to complete the seven. Before we sail we need a plan. There will not be a Senate Meeting on this. Only a selected few will attend. For now, it's time for the evening muster. Tell everyone to meet in the Coliseum, now, including the Amazons," Reyna ordered.


	2. Chapter 2

Piper

II

**Piper felt self-conscious**. She liked to be well hidden, so standing on that stage at the Senate Meeting was somewhat terrifying. One thing she was sure about, Octavian would be a real pain in the butt and a trouble to the quest. She'd been able to shut him up for now but Piper had a feeling she wouldn't for long.

Percy, Piper, Leo, Grover and Annabeth went back to the Greeks in the Argo II while Jason, Frank, Hazel, and Octavian went to the Romans. They'd agreed on sending Jason back to the Romans to reunite and Percy back to the Greeks. Reyna went to inform the Amazons about meeting at the Coliseum. In fifteen minutes, everyone was to be packed in the seats of the Coliseum for Evening Muster.

Piper had been worrying a little about the relationship Jason might share with Reyna over the past few months since she first heard about her. Jason had described her as a fair leader that took in all sides of the story before making judgments and that all we have to do is prove to her our truce. Though he never mentioned anything about her being beautiful or anything—why should he?—Piper could still tell that there was longing in his voice. Being a daughter of Aphrodite, Piper could since when someone was in love, she only couldn't tell who they were in love with. Seeing Reyna, Piper saw how beautiful she was. Most of what Piper thought about was how much time Jason and Reyna spent together being Praetors. And throughout all of this, Piper had no choice but to look up to Reyna. She was strong, smart, beautiful, and determined, almost exactly like Annabeth.

When they got onboard the Argo II again, what seemed like the entire camp, even Clarisse, trampled him. Percy immediately went up on their shoulders and a chant went up as they carried him to the stage, "Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy!"

Many happy faces looked up at him and tried to talk to him as he surfed the crowd like a rock star. Piper hoped for the crowd's sake that Percy was wearing pants under that toga.

Piper looked over the side of the ship and saw that Jason was getting a similar homecoming.

When Percy had finally been put on the stage, a million questions came up.

"How are you?"

"You got a tattoo?"

"Are you okay?"

"Where've you been," Which seemed like a dumb question, since everyone here knew where he'd been.

Time was running, so Percy had to yell to get the crowd's attention, "Hey guys, it's great to see you guys again, but we're on a tight schedule. We have to be at the Coliseum in fifteen minutes with the Romans and the Amazons."

"The what," a kid asked.

"It's a band of girls kind of like the Hunters. They don't like men that are out of place, they don't follow Artemis, and there's probably about a hundred and a half of them," Percy explained.

"Wow," a few campers said.

"Yeah, so we should probably go now. We'll explain everything that's going on there alright?" Percy asked.

The camp mumbled in agreement half-heartedly. As Percy lead the way to the Coliseum, Piper couldn't help but notice how he seemed almost just like Jason. They both were leaders no doubt and had shared the aura of near complete power. Piper had heard about Percy and his quest to save the lightning bolt, to get the Golden Fleece that Piper saw upon her arrival at camp, to rescue Annabeth and the goddess Artemis, to close the Labyrinth and save camp, his great defeat over the Titans, and now finally his quest to save the god Thanatos. Jason had accomplished nearly twice that many, from what Piper heard. But this was only expected, as Jason had been a member of the legion at age five, and living with Lupa for three years before that. Still, besides their different amount of quest, Piper was happy _both_ were leading the quest to find the Doors of Death. Did Piper have feelings for Percy, or was she attracted? No. He was cute, but not exactly her type. Plus Piper had her eyes on the prize—Jason.

As they got nearer, the Coliseum loomed far above their heads. If you've never seen _the_ Coliseum from Ancient Rome, Piper would suggest you see this one first, because if the model wasn't exact in size, Piper had a feeling it was smaller, and that seemed crazy considering how tall this one was. Though however frightening and deathly the place seemed, it radiated much beauty. The way the sun seemed to beam off the side and through the stone windows was enchanting.

When they were passing through the high stone door, there was a lot of tension as the Romans and Greeks got mixed up together. Many people shoved and cursed in Latin and Ancient Greece. No one pulled any weapons on anyone unless Reyna or Annabeth ordered them to, and everyone seemed to be wishing that time would come. Piper wasn't sure what a _Graecus_ was, but she guessed it wasn't very nice. Anyone that tried to push Piper, she just smiled at them and they left her alone. Tyson came into view and rushed over with a bird on his shoulder. When he got closer, they saw it wasn't a bird, but a harpy.

"Whoa, Tyson, who's this?" Leo asked.

"This is Ella. She is a harpy. She is very smart," Tyson responded.

"Ella is smart. Ella reads many books. Camp Jupiter is Ella's new home," Ella said in less than about fifty second.

"Okay…" Leo said, "You seem like a good time. How many Red Bulls have you drunken in the last five minutes?"

"Red Bulls give you wings. Ella has wings," Ella responded.

"I'm guessing around sixty," Leo said, "You seem more hyper then me."

"Talk about it," Piper said, "I see you've made good friends with Tyson."

"Tyson is kind. Tyson protects Ella. Ella is safe with Tyson," Ella said.

Leo laughed, "So in a few years, if we survive, we can expect mutant baby Cyclops flying around on red wings?"

Piper nudged him, "I hope you two are happy together."

They kept walking and when they entered Piper and every other Greek gasped. The place was amazingly huge. There were about a thousand seats which seemed unnecessary considering there weren't that many people in Camp Jupiter. But maybe with the town they had, which was amazing, they could fill half the seats. Piper had been with Camp Half-Blood for only months and she'd already suppressed the thought of life after college, especially since she was part of this Quest to the Doors of Death.

As Piper went to take her seat, Annabeth called her and Leo over.

"We're sitting on the balcony with Reyna, Jason, and the rest of us. We have to inform everyone what's been going on," She said.

Once they'd taken their seats on the balcony overlooking the entire arena, Reyna and Annabeth went on explaining that we'd settled on.

"Romans and Amazons," Reyna said, "We are joined today by Greeks. But don't fret, they are not our enemies. They come with a truce. The ones that join me on the stage are the leaders of the Greeks. Our very own Praetor, Percy Jackson, is one of them. He has saved us and given his word that the Greeks mean no harm. These are his friends."

"And while Percy was here, your Jason Grace has been spending the past eight months with us," Annabeth said, "He too can give you his word that we mean no harm."

"It's true," Jason said, "I know them well. They sent me, Piper, and Leo on a great quest to save the goddess Juno, who they know as Hera."

"And Greeks," Percy said, "They have my trust that they won't hurt you. Though you've known for months about the Romans and how they operate, the Romans are just learning about you as we speak. It _will _take time for them to take in your presents."

"Now Romans," Reyna said, "Something we usually avoid speaking of: The Great Prophecy of Seven. It's begun."

The arena grew extremely loud. Of course none of it came from the Greeks who had been prepped for this for months. No, most of the complaints and yelling came from the Romans. It was far too loud to hear any specific comments let alone hear someone right next to you.

Annabeth gave Piper an expectant look. Piper knew what she was asking. Over the months Piper had been working on her power to Charmspeak and she'd learned to easily get someone's attention.

She stood, raised a hand and simply said, "Look," Immediately everyone stopped and looked at Piper, including Reyna, Annabeth, and everyone else on the balcony with them. Reyna looked shocked but Piper turned the attention to her by letting her take it from there.

She regained herself control quickly, "Romans, we often don't know what the prophecies mean until they come true. The Prophecy as we know goes—"

Octavian interrupted, "

_Seven HalfBloods shall answer the call,_

_To Storm or Fire the World Must Fall,_

_An Oath to Keep with a Final Breath,_

_And Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death,_

"These Greeks suggest that they are a part of this prophecy," Octavian said, "They believe themselves to be amongst the seven demigods the prophecy talks of."

Octavian tried his best to oppose everything they'd said and agreed on, but all it took to shut him up was Piper, so she had to chime in a lot, and that made her kind of uncomfortable. Jason kept giving her reassuring looks every time she did. She could tell he'd wished he could have the ability to shut Octavian up.

When it was all said and done none of the Campers seemed surprised. Piper guessed that if the Greeks were sitting in the same arena as them and not back on their boat, the Romans figured that they'd need to cooperate already. The Amazons definitely didn't seem surprised since they themselves had Greeks and Romans amongst them.

"Now," Reyna said, "The Greeks need shelter. Yes, they have their ship but we have no dock for it here at camp—"

"Yea," Percy whispered, "Your navy sucks."

"Therefore, they will fly the ship here into the Coliseum. That way they will have quick access to everything they need on their ship and tons of room. As for the Amazons; they will set camp in the _Circus Maximus._ That's the building next to here. We will all meet back here for Evening Muster." Reyna said.

"Wait!" Octavian shouted with joy, "Before we end a good Morning Muster I have one last thing to suggest. Before the Greeks get too comfy, we need to search their ship."

"That doesn't make any sense," Piper yelled, "We told you that we're preparing for war. Of course we have we weapons on our ship."

Despite the argument Piper and Octavian had on it, Octavian insisted on searching the ship. Reyna gave in saying that Octavian was right and that they had to be sure we were no harm. What they really looked for were any signs of attack against Romans. Like everyone but Octavian knew, they didn't find anything.

When Reyna and Octavian left, Jason went with Reyna to go back to camp. Piper hoped there hadn't been any feelings between them. Piper thought that Jason would've told her if he had anything going on with another girl. And Piper had a feeling that she couldn't stand up to Reyna, the leader of a militant legion, the way she did to Drew, a rude popular girl. And thinking of this, Piper didn't know what to classify herself as. The Aphrodite daughter that only went on one quest? The girl that was afraid to use her own dagger? The 'Beauty Queen' who only good at speaking french and looking pretty? Piper didn't know she was, yet she knew who everyone else was. Who to try and who to stay away from. Octavian was defiantly someone Piper wanted to try but she couldn't until she knew how.

With Jason, Reyna, and Octavian gone that left Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel, and sense Percy and Annabeth were together in the corner, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel were left to talk to one another in the ship.

"So…" Leo said trying to break the ice, bringing out three rubber bands and a stick, "You guys want to see me turn these into a helicopter?"

Frank and Hazel looked at each other trying not to laugh. Frank cracked a smile.

"What Leo means is you guys are kids of Mars and Pluto?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, and your moms Aphrodite right?" Frank replied.

"Yea," Piper responded.

"You don't seem like a daughter of Venus," Frank said, "Oh! Not that you're not beautiful or anything. It's just that Venus kids don't usually make it here at camp. They usually don't get pass the Wolf house." Leo shuddered.

"Yea I've been told that before," Piper said.

"Yea well Beauty Queen is a lot tougher than you'd think. She can Charmspeak! It's awesome. She's all 'leave us alone monsters' and they all just do exactly what she says." Leo explained.

"And you," Hazel said to Leo, "What powers do you have against fire?"

"I can control it, create it, and I'm resistant to it. Me and anything on me," Leo explained, "I guess you can pretty much say Boom, Boom, Fire Power!" Frank looked like he might have a heart attack from hearing this. Like he didn't know whether to be terribly afraid of Leo or totally relieved of his existence.

"So what can you guys do?" Piper asked.

"Well I can shape shift into any animal or creature as long as I know them well. So far I've been a bear, an eagle, an elephant and more. I'm also amazing at archery. Hazel here can find underground tunnels, control dirt and stuff and she has a strange control over jewels." Frank explained.

"So you don't have any control over the dead like other children of Hades?" Piper asked.

"Nope. I always thought my brother was Roman, but if he's really Greek it might be a power for Greek demigod children of Pluto," Hazel said, "Have you ever met him?"

"No, we haven't. But, we hear a lot about him at camp. About how he and his sister came to camp when he was only eleven and she was thirteen. How Bianca died before she knew her Godly parent causing him to go berserk and blame Percy for not protecting her. How he personally brought Hades to help defend Olympus in the Titan War last summer. And _much_ more." Piper said.

"Wow," Hazel said, "I didn't even know that much about him." She was tearing up.

"Let's change the subject," Frank said.

"Sure," Piper said.

"Well you seem to know everything about our camp," Frank said, "How's yours?"

"Oh you'd love Camp Half Blood! It really kicks—" Leo started but was cut off by Piper.

"What Leo means is that it's been a real home to both of us. We both don't really have too much of a home to go to. You take classes daily, we have games some nights, we have camp fires right after dinner, there are cabins which are sorted by godly parents, it used to be run by the god Dionysus until right before we came and he got called back to Olympus by Zeus, now it's run my Chiron," She said.

"You had a _God _run your camp?" Frank asked. He stopped to think, "Dionysus is Bacchus in Roman right? He has some cool kids. And Chiron, you don't mean _they_ Chiron that trained Hercules and all the others? The faun?"

"Yes that Chiron, but unlike the Hercules movie he isn't a satyr. He's a centaur. Half man, half horse. But don't think that just because he's a horse he'll let you ride him. If you ask he goes all super ninja on you." Leo said.

"That's way better than the Hercules movie!" Frank exclaimed, "We have Lupa. She never comes to camp. Every demigod goes to her and then to camp, if they're powerful enough."

"I've was hoping to get a few pictures with her until Jason told us that we'll probably never see her," Leo said.

Hazel laughed. There was something in the way she looked at Leo; Piper could definitely see something more than what should be seen between two strangers.

Will Solace walked in urgently, "Guys! Jason and Octavian are both in the medic center!"


	3. Chapter 3

Leo

III

**Leo was buzzing to know how Jason and Octavian got in the hospital. **Ever since he'd first heard Octavian speak he wanted to flame him up. First Leo thought he was just no harm to anything besides stuffed bunnies, now he knew that this skinny suck up was going to make or break their mission.

They all raced out of the ship, out of the arena, out of New Rome, and into camp. There was so much hustle and bustle. Leo felt like he was being mugged by any and everything, especially the freaky ghost. Whatever a _Graecus_ was Leo didn't think it was good. Hazel pointed us in the direction of the Medic Center which was built into the building next to the Barracks. The inside looked like an actual hospital. There were wind auras dressed as nurses, a waiting area, and a little hand sanitizer dispenser that said 'Keep Em' Clean or the Gods Will Take Em''.

A wind aura directed them to room CCVII (a.k.a 207) where Jason was hooked being aided by a wind aura. From what Leo could see, he had a deep stab in his side and a cut on his cheek. Reyna was already there holding his hand. Leo did a quick look at Piper who took in a large breathe. When Reyna looked up she immediately dropped Jason's hand and stood.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"Jason and Octavian got into a small fight," Reyna explained.

"A small fight? Look at him," Percy said.

"I know, I know, but he's doing better," Reyna explained, "He still has that stab in his side and that cut on his cheek."

"I'm fine," Jason said.

"Don't tell me that little shrimp of a guy did _this_ to you, dude," Leo said. Jason laughed.

"Yeah, after Cyclops, werewolves, and giants _he_ put me in the hospital," Jason joked.

"Well when I go over there, he better be much worse or you're gonna get flamed," Leo said.

"Flame me and I spark you," Jason responded.

"You're not actually going over to his room are you?" Annabeth asked.

"I might, just to give him a lesson on manners," Leo said.

"Oh please, Leo, that's the _last_ thing we need," Piper pleaded.

"Okay, okay, I won't go," Leo said, "But that teddy bear serial killer better not do anything funny again."

"Actually Leo," Jason said, "I started the fight."

"What?" Annabeth yelled.

"He provoked me!" Jason said.

"What'd he say?" Piper asked.

Jason just looked away without responding. Leo knew he didn't want to talk about it because he was embarrassed. Leo would feel the same way, but what would provoke Jason so much that he would nearly ruin the whole plan?

"Let's just say he's trying to turn everyone against each other," Jason said.

"You're saying everyone should avoid talking to him?" Reyna asked.

Jason nodded. He gave Leo and Piper a look that said, '_We'll talk about it later_,'

"When will you be out?" Piper asked.

"Jason Grace will be released tomorrow," the wind aura said.

"Tomorrow?" Annabeth asked, "But we were hoping to start sailing to Rome tomorrow."

"Even if Jason was well I wouldn't allow you to leave with two of my soldiers tomorrow," Reyna said.

"Well we were actually hoping the entire camp would come," Annabeth said, "We're planning a war, not a scavenger hunt including seven people."

"I need to get to know you and your people before I can let _any_ of my soldiers go into war. You can't ask me for an alliance the day I learn of your existence," Reyna said, "And war or not, I won't allow all of my soldiers to leave the legion. During the Titan War we lost nearly half, I'm not doing that again. If all of my soldiers are your price, half my soldiers are mine."

"There will be nothing left in the world, let alone your camp, if we don't send all soldiers to this war. This is nothing compared to the Titan War," Annabeth said, "We need you _and_ the Amazons."

"I'll think on this. As for the Amazons, You will need to confront my sister," Reyna said, "But I'll tell you when you are allowed to sail and how many soldiers I'll allow you to take."

And with that Reyna left the room. Annabeth was so ticked that she too left the room. Percy stayed saying it was no use trying to comfort her.

So there they were; Jason, Piper, Leo, Percy, Frank, and Hazel. All of the confirmed seven in one room. Nobody spoke because being in a room alone together only reminded them of the hard task ahead of them all. They sat there for all of five minutes in silence until Percy and Leo, the two ADHD and Dyslexic ones, finally broke. Leo pulled out a bunch of objects and started making something while tapping his foot and Percy started pacing back and forth across the room.

"Maybe we should give Jason some space and time to rest," Hazel said.

"I'm not leaving Jason," Piper said.

"Neither am I," Leo agreed.

"Well we'll be in the waiting room if you need us," Percy said.

Percy, Frank, and Hazel left the room leaving Jason, Piper, and Leo alone in room CCVII.

"Lay it out. What happened?" Leo asked.

"Well after I left camp I went up to my father's temple, my favorite place at camp. I forgot that's where Octavian does all his teddy bear gutting," Jason lowered his words down to a whisper now, "So when I got there he started telling me how everyone here preferred Percy now over me. How everyone had given up on finding me once Percy had gotten here. How he saved the camp from a giant. I'll admit I got more than irritated. So when he kept telling me all of this it made me think of how little I've done to save Percy's camp and how he's saved all of my friends."

Piper looked at Jason intently, "So you're saying that we shouldn't go near Octavian because he'll plant false information in our heads?"

"No," Jason said, "I'm saying we shouldn't go around Octavian because he'll try to tell us exactly what he thinks will make us not work well with the other seven. When he told me about Percy I got jealous and it made me not like him a little less but that's what Octavian wants. And something like that shouldn't be enough to get me to not work with Percy. Who know? There could be things about you that he knows. Just be on your guard."

"Does that mean that you believe him about Percy?" Leo asked.

Jason didn't say anything but looked at the wall.

"Oh come on man!" Leo exclaimed.

"I just mean that I don't know whether it's true or not," Jason explained.

"So what," Piper asked, "You're saying that everyone's just pretending to like you over Percy? That's ridiculous! They've know you their whole lives."

"I don't not know it," Jason said.

"So what now, you just sit in the hospital and wait?" Piper asked.

"Yeah we have a job to do! You can't just sit here!" Leo said, "We still have to plan and negotiate."

"And we will," Jason said, "It'll just have to wait for tomorrow. For now I think I'll get some sleep."

"Yeah I guess you should," Piper said, "We'll come back tonight maybe."

"Alright, see you," Jason said.

Leo and Piper left room CCVII and were on their way back to the ship when they ran into Terminus the psycho over protective God that protected New Rome from intruders and today he seemed to be in a horrible mood.

"Where do you think you're going? ID?" He yelled.

"We don't have an ID," Piper said.

"_Probatio_ tablet?" Terminus asked.

"We don't have one of those either," Leo said.

"Are you one of those Amazons? Amazons don't have boys. Who are you? Why don't you have Identification?" He yelled.

"We're part of the Greeks that got here today in that big ship," Piper said.

"_Graecus_! Here at Camp Jupiter? That's a disgrace! Where is the praetor? Things around here are getting out of hand! Giants attacking, Boats in the forum, now _Graecus_!" Terminus exploded.

"Terminus!" Yelled a voice from behind. Reyna was coming up, "Let them pass, they're staying in New Rome."

"Praetor what is going on?" Terminus asked.

"Don't pretend like you don't know. I know the gods talk," Reyna said.

"Yes but that is no reason for _Graecus_ to run around here like this," He said.

"That is for me to decide as Praetor," Reyna said.

"You know I have a direct connection with the other Gods including Lupa," Terminus threatened.

"Lupa never comes to camp," Reyna said.

"Lupa's job is to keep the order of Rome and this seems like the exact thing to get her attention. I wouldn't be surprised if she showed up today," Terminus said.

"Just let us through," Reyna said.

"I may not be able to make you see Praetor but I can still make you do work. I'm starting to notice uneven grass around here," Terminus said as he let them through.

Leo thought this conversation was a little extreme for a statue with no hands. I mean what could he do? He held back laughter the entire time.

"What was that about?" Piper asked.

"Terminus is the God at camp that protects New Rome's Pomerian Line. He's…overly strict I guess. He does allow anyone pass the Pomerian Line without ID," Reyna explained, "He really keeps it nice and tidy."

"Well is what he said about Lupa true?" Leo asked.

"It could've been a bluff. I doubt Lupa would come," She said.

"Well we've never been _properly_ introduced. I'm Leo Valdez," Leo said.

Maybe with the situation it wasn't the best time for flirting, but Leo thought Reyna was hotter than Giant breath. She was hot and definitely in control. His kind of girl.

"Yes I know, I'm Reyna," Reyna said.

"What no last name?" Leo asked.

"I've never known my mortal parent therefore no. No last name." Reyna said.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that but if ever you feel you need to talk to someone about it, you know where my ship is," Leo said smoothly.

"Thanks but no thanks," Reyna said, "It was nice meeting you. And you to Piper McLean."

Piper smiled and waved at her as Reyna walked away and into the Coliseum. Minutes later she walked out with Percy and the two of them left New Rome together. Meanwhile Piper and Leo ran into Hazel and Frank again.

"It seems like everyone else is always busy," Hazel said, "Frank and I were just sitting here talking about Octavian. I was thinking about visiting my father's temple. Now that he's not up there I think it's the perfect time."

"Yea Jason said that how they got into it. Jason went up to see his dad's temple and Octavian was there," Leo said.

"Figures," Frank said.

"I was thinking of going myself but Piper do you want to come?" Hazel asked.

"Sure why not," Piper said.

With that Piper and Hazel left New Rome leaving Leo and Frank.

"So how long have you known Hazel?" Leo asked.

"Oh I've only been going to camp for about a month so that long. She's really something isn't she?" Frank said.

"Oh I get it. So you two are dating?" Leo asked.

"Not officially," Frank said, "But we both know how we feel about each other. So what about your mortal family?"

This was a weird topic to bring up, Leo thought. Most demigods don't think about other demigod's mortal family.

"My mom? She's um… she was amazing," Leo said.

"Oh," Frank realized, "Mine too. She died in war. I found out I was a demigod right after she died. So it was pretty recent."

Leo looked up at him. He knew what he was going through. He felt sad for him, a different type of sad than he had for Jason when Jason learned about his mom. This was a guy who knew his mom and had just lost her. Leo remembered the time when that was him.

"I'm sorry," Leo said.

"Nah, don't be. Besides, up until yesterday I still had my Grandmother," Frank said.

"That's rough," Leo said.

"Well what about you? You have any grandparents?" Frank asked.

"None that are interested in me. My grandmother, Lucia Valdez, and my grandfather, Alexander Russo, live in Montana. My mother kept her mother's last name, Valdez. My Grandmother grew up in Texas. Her father, Sammy, owned a farm and died of a heart attack in the Nineteen Sixties."

"So your Great-Grandfather was Sammy Valdez?" Frank said, mystified.

"Yeah why?" Leo asked.

"Nothing it's just Hazel was telling me how she knew a guy named Sammy Valdez. She mentioned how you looked a little like him," Frank said, "I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

Something was up, Leo decided. He'd seen pictures of his Great-Grandfather and he knew he looked exactly like him. How much of a coincidence could that be?

"Where did you say Hazel came from?" Leo asked.

"I didn't," Frank said, "But she comes from New Orleans."

Leo's mind was freaking out right now. He knew something was up. Sammy Valdez grew up in New Orleans, how is it possible that Hazel once knew a guy named Sammy Valdez from New Orleans that 'sort of' looked like Leo? His Great-Grandfather was born in the forties and Hazel couldn't have been more than thirteen. Could this have anything to do with why Hazel was staring at Leo all day?

"And this Sammy Valdez grew up with her in New Orleans?" Leo asked.

"I guess," Frank said. He looked like he knew more but was holding back, like he'd already said too much.

"That's funny," Leo said, "Isn't it."

"Exactly why I brought it up," Frank said.

"Well hey I got to go back to the ship and check up on some things alright? See you big guy," Leo said.

"See you," Frank replied.

Leo wasn't sure about how he felt about Frank. He'd dumped a lot on Leo about how is mother and Grandmother had died in the past weeks. He felt really bad for him. But had all that been an act just so that he could work his way around Leo and get information about his Great-Grandfather? However he felt, he was sure about one thing. Hazel and Frank were keeping secrets. Secrets Percy Jackson might know. And whatever they were, Leo had a few suspicions about Hazel.


	4. Chapter 4

Percy

IV

**Percy figured that if things went right today would **be the best day of his life. Wrong. Things hadn't necessarily gone right or wrong but it definitely wasn't the best day ever. After all things could've went terribly wrong like he'd feared. The only _serious_ bump in the road was Octavian but somehow this girl Piper had a small power over him. Percy had been at Camp Half-Blood for just about five years and he'd never heard of Charmspeak and he didn't really get it yet but whatever it was he was glad it existed; otherwise things probably would've gone _much_ worst. Percy definitely had a good laugh when Octavian saw Jason come through the ship doors, but he didn't figure on them actually getting into a fight. And Percy was sure that Jason was embarrassed about it or he wouldn't be keeping the reason a secret. Percy knew that the only people Jason would tell would be Piper and Leo. Percy couldn't blame them fully because he knew that if it were him he'd only tell Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Grover. He still wasn't sure if he should tell anyone about Hazel's secrets. And throughout the day it was obvious Hazel was watching Leo. It freaked Percy out about how Hazel knew a Leo lookalike with the same last name.

"So, how's the day been treating you two?" Percy asked Frank and Hazel once they left the hospital.

"Pretty good, met some new people…" Frank said.

"…reunited with some _old _people," Hazel continued dazed.

"Well he's definitely not the same Sammy you once knew. But there may be something," Percy said.

Hazel didn't say anything but just kept walking.

Percy didn't know what this meant for Hazel and Frank but he sensed more drama.

"Well what do you think of everyone else?" Percy asked.

"Everyone's really cool, I guess," Frank said, "As much as I've heard of Jason I didn't expect him to be exactly like you."

Percy was taken back, "What do you mean by 'exactly like you'?" He asked.

"You don't see it?" Hazel asked coming out of her daze, "The only difference is that you have more of a sense of humor and even that isn't too far off. There are Gods and their aspects right? Well Jason's almost like _your_ Roman aspect."

Percy didn't know how to take this. The fact that Jason was just like him was impossible. He'd always saw himself as an individual and that however he was alike someone he'd always be different, but in a good way. So the fact that two of Percy's best friends were calling him identical to Jason kind of ticked him off, "He is not. I think you're over exaggerating."

"We didn't mean it in a bad way," Frank said.

"Well you didn't say it in a good way either," Percy said.

"Oh come on, don't be that way, dude," Frank said.

"I'm not being anyway. I'm not even that mad. It's no big deal," Percy lied, "I think I'm going to go catch up to Annabeth and see if she's okay."

"Why wouldn't she be, all Reyna did was tell her she wasn't ready to let more soldiers go too soon on a quest she hardly knows about," Frank said.

"Annabeth's not used to people questioning her orders. And keep in mind that if Reyna doesn't give up a few if not all soldiers it might cost all of our lives," Percy defended.

"So what you mean to say is that Annabeth is angry because Reyna's just like her?" Frank said.

"Why do you keep saying that?"Percy yelled, "I'm not like Jason and Annabeth isn't like Reyna!"

"Yes she is. You're just worried that when you and Jason are leading this quest you'll say one thing and Jason will say another and that people will listen to Jason," Frank exclaimed.

"Why are you saying this in the first place? I said it was no big deal. Why are we still talking about it?" Percy yelled.

"Because you got mad that I compared Annabeth to Reyna," Frank explained.

"Which you shouldn't have done," Percy said.

"Boys, what is the matter with you two? You're going at it like kids. And this is coming from a 13 year old. Frank stop being a jerk, sure there are comparisons between them but Jason and Percy and Annabeth and Reyna all have their differences and accusing Percy of being afraid to lead with Jason is a little harsh don't you think? And Percy, you shouldn't get so defensive over Frank's opinion however rude it may be. You're forgetting that you two are friends and that the enemy is growing stronger every second. We need to worry about how we're going to convince Reyna to let our soldiers go on this quest." Hazel demanded.

"Should we let our soldiers go on this quest?" Frank asked, "Seeing Jason, Piper, and Leo just reminded me how doomed we are. We don't know who this seventh person is and we can't just expect them to walk right in at the right time. Plus, whoever the seventh person is, how can we trust them? We can't sail to Rome and Greece with a big Army only being led by us six."

Percy couldn't say anything to that, seeing the wise and painful truth, "I'll see you guys later, I'm going to catch up to Annabeth."

He left Frank and Hazel behind and went back to the ship.

The ship was custom made for everyone so there were about 300 rooms. Jason, Piper, Leo, and everyone from Camp Half Blood had designed and decorated their own room. Percy was assigned a room this morning but it hadn't been at all decorated. He found Annabeth in her room going over battle strategies. Her room was very techno. She had a desk with a computer in the corner, a very big bookcase, a television, and battle strategies hanging all over the walls.

"Knock, Knock," He said as he entered.

"Who's there?"

"Percy."

"Percy who?"

"Percy Jackson."

"Oh I think I've heard of him," she said, "That really cool and handsome demigod?"

"Yea I guess," Percy said.

They laughed for a short while and then turned serious.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I guess I just didn't expect it to be like this. Percy, we can grow up and live our lives here if we wanted. Their soldiers survive way more than ours."

"You make it sound like they're better than us," Percy said.

"Well they're more trained, if you think about it, everyone here has gone through a test of strength. If we did that we'd have all of about 50 campers. We have 50 good fighters and they have 200. We need them. That girl Reyna is the one keeping us from working together." Annabeth said.

"Reyna isn't holding us back. Reyna need to think about her decision. I know and you know that we need them but Reyna doesn't. Even with this place in full war yesterday they still don't get the seriousness of it all. They are running low on supplies and campers therefore they need all they've got here." Percy explained.

"Whose side are you on?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm not on anyone's side. Why are you being like this? I'm pointing out the fact and you're being ignorant to the Romans." Percy said, "Why is everyone being so unreasonable today?"

"Unreasonable?" Annabeth asked, "Who else is being unreasonable?"

"Frank," Percy explained the whole argument.

"What'd you say next?" She asked.

"I couldn't say anything. He's right. We don't know this seventh person is, there are only six of us leading this quest, and we're expected to have another war. I don't know if I can do this. Plus the Gods aren't even helping this time. Hera said that it would take us sailing to Rome and Greece for the Gods to see and join us and we can hardly come together ourselves." Percy explained.

"Percy, you've led a war before on your own it should be easier with five or six other people." Annabeth comforted.

"That's just it. I don't know if I can lead with Jason." Percy said.

"Why, because people won't listen to you?" Annabeth asked.

"Maybe," Percy said.

"This is giving us all a chance to build better teamwork and communication skills. You're learning flaws about yourself that you didn't even know about." Annabeth said.

"I guess." Percy said, "I can do this if you're with me."

"Of course, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said before kissing me.

Two minutes later a knock interrupted their kiss. When Percy opened the door it was Drew, one of the new campers that Percy had hardly gotten to know.

"That Reyna girl wants to see you Percy." She said.

Percy looked back at Annabeth sympathetically.

"Go do your thing Captain Jackson," She said wryly.

"Explain to me what's going on," Reyna said when they reached the _Principia_.

"Explain what?" Percy asked.

"Explain everything you know. Explain your opinion on everything. Explain what we need to do," Reyna exclaimed.

"I really don't know where to begin. I explained a lot earlier about how Juno switched Jason and me from our camps in order to gain each other's trust. Now that we've gained trust the real work begins. We have to work together and sail to Rome to close the Doors of Death then sail to Greece to actually fight the war with the Giants. The Gods aren't on board yet but they come in when we all work together. They're blinded and being kept in order by Jupiter but once Jupiter sees us working together he'll let the other Gods come to our aid. Even my dad hasn't helped and we're about as close as a mortal and a God can get. I know it seems impossible with all the obstacles in the way but we'll get through it. As you saw yesterday, only a demigod and a God together can kill a Giant therefore it's crucial the Gods help meaning that it's also crucial for us to get along. This much I'm betting you get but it's the working together part that's fazing us all. All of us have secrets that in some way affect us all. But the fates have chosen me, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel and all of us have proved our worth. If you want my opinion we need to sail to Rome and along the way build teamwork and trust."

Reyna took this in for a while, "But the camp. Who will stay and defend the camp? And how many soldiers does this quest call for?"

"I say we get an old praetor from New Rome to help and while the legion is sailing all the old soldiers can stay and defend if necessary." Percy said.

"But that isn't fair. They have families and loved ones now and lives away from all of this. They're required to serve ten years and then they have the choice. They're veterans and they aren't going to listen to us most likely," Reyna said.

"Then we need someone they will listen to," Percy said.

"You can't mean—"

"—Lupa? Yes I do mean Lupa." Percy said.

"And what makes you think Lupa will be on our side and agree with this plan?" Reyna said.

"Lupa has her opinions and I think she knows what's at stake. Her job is to keep Rome alive right? I have a feeling if we don't do this then there won't be any Rome left," Percy explained.

"And how do we get her here?" Reyna asked.

"We don't. We go to the Wolf House." Percy said.

"Who's 'we'?"Reyna asked.

"Me, you, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank," Percy said, "We need to show her that we have a plan and an order."

"When?"

"Right after Jason is released from the hospital," Percy said.

"Good," Reyna said, "Then it's a plan."


End file.
